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December 24, 2012

Usually this poriyal is prepared on Dwadesi day ( next day to vaikunta ekadesi) as a special food for people who did fasting on vaikunta ekadesi as it helps to reduce the body heat & acidity levels.. Before my marriage , my paati used to make this poriyal along with gooseberry pickle or gooseberry pachadi & avial for dwadesi . I love that feast ..Yesterday i got the recipe from my mom and tried this poriyal. It was very nice and we loved it a lot.. We all know agathi keerai takes more time to cook. As my mom suggested , i pressure cooked the keerai after sauting and it was perfectly cooked...Usually toor dal is used in this poriyal but i used moong dal as it gives a nice smell..Also i used onions which is not added on this day. So please skip onion if u make for dwadesi..Otherwise, add small onions which gives a nice taste and flavour to this poriyal.

Now add the washed leaves ( keerai) , a pinch of sugar & the required salt.

Saute well till the keerai shrinks.. After few minutes , add a tbsp of moong dal and saute well for a minute.Now add enough water (say 1/2 cup) and transfer the entire contents into a small box with lid and pressure cook it in high flame for 1 or 2 whistles. I dint pressure cook it directly .Remove the lid and check if there is any water..If there is any water , allow it to drain by boiling it for sometime. Otherwise, add the grated coconut , mix well and saute for few seconds..Check for salt. U can add few drops of lime juice at the end to get a tangy taste..

Serve with sambar sadam !!

NOTE

I have used more onions and dal to enhance the flavour and taste.

This keerai has a mild bitter taste. Adding more coconut helps to overcome that bitterness..

We are adding sugar while sauting the leaves to avoid discoloration..

If u dont want to pressure cook the leaves , u can add water directly in the kadai and cover cook it. But it takes longer time to cook .

U can also pressure cook the leaves first and then do the tempering and sautéing procedures.It tastes good in both the ways.

December 20, 2012

Kongu Nadu is the most industrialised and prosperous region in Tamil Nadu..The Kongu region comprises of places right from Ooty to Dharapuram which includes coimbatore , salem and its a big list .. I worked in kongu engineering college before my marriage. I have tasted some of their foods.As i have an interest to try other area foods , kongu recipes were in my try list for a long time..I have bookmarked some recipes from different blogs and i gave a try ..Kongu foods has more of coconut and pulses in many dishes and most of the recipes were made using freshly ground spices ..So it has a nice aroma and taste.The best thing is they use very less oil in their recipes.For non-veg lovers , there are a lot more recipes to try.. As a vegetarian , i found these recipes as simple to try and to make a perfect meal..The most popular recipe among these is arisi paruppu sadam. I saw different versions in many blogs and long back i tried it with just sambar powder but somehow we dint like that taste. May be their sambar powder is different from mine and i missed the aroma..So this time i tried it from valarmathi’s blog in which she suggested to use freshly ground spices. It was very nice and had a nice flavour..Also i tried poondu kuzhambu from her blog which is very easy to prepare. We loved its taste.In addition to this, i tried potato fry from ramya’s blog and paruppu keerai from plantain leaf..To complete the meal , i made ilaneer payasam . This time i dint add condensed milk.Still there is a big list of recipes like kollu masiyal , kootu etc to try.. I’ll make one by one and post here..I was not able to take better pictures this time as i was in a hurry to serve it for my hubby.By the time i clicked , there was a heavy shadow near my window. If possible , i’ll make again and post some good pictures .

Water – 1.5 cups ( add as per ur rice) ( i used 1:3 ratio, please use the ratio u follow in ur daily cooking )

Toor Dhal - 1/8 cup ie. 2 tbsp

Onion – 1 no (medium , slice cut)

Tomato – 1/2 no (finely chopped)

Coriander leaves – few ( to garnish)

Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp

Cashew nuts - few (optional)

To temper:

Oil –1 tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

To grind

Garlic - 3 cloves

Dry Red Chilly – 2-3 nos

Curry leaves – few

Cumin seeds – 1/2 tsp

Black Pepper Corns - 1/4 tsp

METHOD

Grind the ingredients said above to a coarse paste adding water and keep aside.

Wash Rice and dal.Soak for 15 mins.

Heat oil in a pressure cooker & add mustard seeds to it and allow it to splutter.

Then add the onions and fry until golden brown.

Now add chopped tomatoes to it and fry till the tomatoes are mushy.Then add the ground paste to it and fry till the raw smell goes.Now add rice and dal to it and add water.

Now add turmeric powder , coriander leaves and salt..

Pressure cook for 2 or 3 whistles.Fry the cashew nuts in ghee and add to the rice and serve.

As valarmathi suggested , i enjoyed this rice with vathal/appalam and potato fry.. This rice tastes good with potato chips too..

POONDU KUZHAMBU/ GARLIC GRAVY

Its very easy to prepare and a simple recipe..!! Thank u so much valar..

INGREDIENTS

Garlic cloves – 1/4 cup

Big or small Onion, chopped – few pieces

Tomato – 1 no ( small, chopped )

Tamarind – Big gooseberry sized

Red Chillies – 2 nos

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Coriander powder – 1.5 tsp

Chilly Powder - 3/4 tsp

Coriander leaves – few ( optional)

Jaggery –a pinch (optional)

Oil – 2 tsp

Mustard seeds – 1 tsp

Salt & water – as needed

METHOD

Soak tamarind in water and extract a cup of tamarind juice from it and keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds to it, after it splutters add pinched red chillies to it.

Add the chopped onions and garlic fry till they are golden brown.Then add tomatoes and fry till they become soft.

Now add turmeric powder, chilly powder and coriander powder to it and mix well.Then add tamarind juice, water and salt to it.Add jaggery if u use..Cook the gravy till it becomes thick and garlic are soft.Garnish with coriander leaves and serve !!

PARUPPU KEERAI

It tasted more like dal palak. It was a nice combo for poondu kuzhambu..

For this recipe , ramya used brinjal & potato .. As my hubby doesnt like brinjal , i used only potatoes. I dint use much oil , first i roasted potatoes in little oil and i added little water to cook them.. It was not much oily and was tasty too..

INGREDIENTS

Potato – 3 nos (medium sized , cut into pieces)

Big onion – 1 no, chopped ( original recipe used small onions )

Sambar powder – 1-2 tsp

Grated coconut / dry coconut – 2 tsp

Salt – as per taste

To temper

Oil – 2 tbsp

Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp

Channa dhal – 1 tsp

Green chilli - 1 no( finely chopped.)

coriander leaves for garnishing.

METHOD

Heat oil in a pan and once its hot,add the mustard seeds.

When it splutters , add the channa dal.Saute until it turns light brown in color and then add onions.fry till transparent.

Add the chilli,curry leaves and turmeric powder and saute well.

Now add the potato pieces and sambhar/red chilli powder and the salt needed and cook it covered until the potatoes are cooked by sprinkling little water ( If u don’t want to add water , add more oil and allow it to roast and cook in oil itself)

Just before turning off the flame,add the grated coconut and gently stir.Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve it hot.

December 17, 2012

I have tried this cake many times with different flavours. Its a fool proof recipe. It never went wrong..I have tried with chocolate , pine apple and orange flavours too.It tastes great. Its very easy to make with just two steps.There is no butter,no maida and no egg in this recipe.This cake comes out really soft n spongy..Do try this cake, u’ll love it for sure ..

INGREDIENTS

Marie biscuit – 6 nos ( i used marie oats)

Orange cream biscuit – 6 nos ( i used tasty treat)

Sugar – 2 tsp ( adjust)

Baking powder – 1/2 tsp

Cooking soda – 1/4 tsp

Milk – 1/2 cup ( at room temperature,boiled & cooled milk)

METHOD

In a mixie jar , take the biscuits , sugar, baking powder & cooking soda.Grind well to make a smooth powder.. Then add the milk and grind it again to make a paste.The cake mixture should fall like a ribbon..

Line a baking pan with butter paper and pour the mixture.Preheat oven in convection mode ,180c for 10 mins and bake the cake for 15-20 mins. Check with tooth pick and remove.Allow it to cool completely and remove the butter paper.Cool the cake completely before removing the butter paper else the cake will break.Cut into pieces and enjoy !!

NOTE

If u want,u can replace cooking soda & baking powder with a tsp of Eno fruit salt ( plain,blue color packet).Result will be the same..

U can add orange zest & orange juice for more flavour. In that case , adjust the amount of milk.The cake mixture should fall like a ribbon..

If u want different flavours , replace orange biscuit by pineapple cream biscuits OR chocolate cream biscuit. The quantity would be the same..I have tried with all marie biscuit varieties..So use any..

Please check after 10 mins , if its not done, bake for 5 more minutes..

Cool the cake completely before removing the butter paper else the cake will break..

December 13, 2012

I got this recipe from my friend. I have tried this kurma many times with many combinations and finally hooked up with this recipe. I always love hotel kurma and when u dig it , u’ll find only some onions and vegetables and not any spices.As my friend’s recipe was similar to the one i expected , i tried it..It was very flavourful & tasty .. It is a best pair for roti, poori , parotta and idiyappam..I’ve already posted a mixed veg kurma , mom’s version..If interested click here..

INGREDIENTS

1 cup - 250ml

Carrot – 2 nos (small)

Potato – 1 no (big)

Beans – 8 - 10 nos

Peas – 1/4 cup

To temper & saute

Jeera – 1 tsp

Bayleaf –1 no (optional)

Big onion – 2 nos

Tomato – 2 nos ( small)

Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp

Red chilli powder – 1/2 tsp ( I used 1/4 tsp)

Garam masala powder – 1/2 tsp

Kasuri methi – A pinch (optional)

To grind

Grated coconut – 1/4 cup

Fried gram dal – 2 tsp

Cashews – 5 nos

Green chillies – 2 - 3 nos ( I used 2 )

Dhania / coriander seeds – 1/2 tsp (optional)

Fennel – 1/2 tsp

Cinnamon – 1 inch piece

Cardamom – 1 no

Cloves – 2 nos

Ginger – 1 inch piece

Garlic – 6 cloves

METHOD

Grind all the items given under “to grind” to make a paste by adding water..Chop tomatoes finely and set aside.You can also use 1/4 cup of thin tomato puree instead.

Wash and chop all the vegetables , pressure cook adding little salt , 1.5 cups of water in high flame for 2 whistles and set aside..Make sure the vegetables should not be mushy.

In a kadai , heat oil ,add jeera & bayleaf.. Then add the onions and saute till it turns transparent. Now add the tomato puree or tomato pieces and saute till raw smell leaves or till the pieces turns mushy.Add little salt to make it faster..

Then add the ground paste and saute well .. Now add the turmeric powder , red chilli powder and garam masala powder & kasuri methi. Mix well and saute for few mins. Finally add the cooked vegetables along with the water. Add salt if necessary and some more water. Allow it to boil for sometime till u get a nice aroma. Adjust the consistency..

Garnish with coriander leaves if u wish. Serve hot with roti/poori !

NOTE

I wanted the kurma less spicy , so i added less chillies. U can add more based on ur requirement..

Instead of cooking vegetables in prior , i have tried cooking it along with the spices .It gives a different taste and smell.Try any method based on your wish.

December 11, 2012

I tried this recipe after watching an Youtube video by chef Harpal singh.I found it easy and I prepared this for my daughter’s evening snacks. She loved it a lot. Usually cheese balls are made with white sauce. But I followed this quick and easy method. I halved the recipe and added masala as per my need. For the last batch, I added little garam masala powder which is not in the original recipe. I loved it.It takes just 10 minutes to prepare when u have boiled corn ready in hand. We all find difficult to remove the corn kernels. I have suggested a very simple and easy method which I saw here in road side shops. I’ve given step by step pics too.Some of u may know this already. Do try this method and let me know friends.Soon I will try to share Bangalore famous masala corn recipe :)

Grate the cheese,boil the corn and remove the kernels.To remove the kernels, cut the boiled corn into two pieces. Take one piece and keep it on a plate.Hold the corn with one hand. Keep the knife on top of one side of the corn. Cut through the end. The kernels will fall down. Rotate the corn and do the next side. Repeat until all the kernels are removed.(click on the image to c a large picture)

Grind the kernels coarsely just by pulsing once or twice.

In a bowl , take the ground kernels , cheese , flour and all the ingredients except oil and water. Mix & make a crumbly mixture. This itself forms a non sticky dough but u should add little water otherwise the mixture will separatewhen u deep fry.May be just 1-2 tbsp water is enough.

Now add water to make a dough. It will be sticky. Grease your hands with oil and make small balls. Dip the balls in milk and then roll in bread crumbs(optional). Cover the remaining balls while u deep fry. Do not let it dry.

Heat oil to deep fry and fry one for the first time. Oil should not be too hot. U should fry like gulab jamun by stirring the oil and the ball continuously for uniform frying. The ball will come up once done. Remove when golden brown

Enjoy !

NOTE

Adding water is very important otherwise the mixture will separate while deep frying..

I din’t use milk or bread crumbs to roll. But still it was crispy. If u want u can roll the balls in milk and then in bread crumbs to get more crispy balls..

Do not deep fry in high heat because the balls will get browned and remains uncooked inside.

Keep stirring the oil using a ladle when u deep fry. This helps for uniform cooking & browning.

December 8, 2012

When I was searching for idli sambar recipes , I got this one titled as Saravana Bhavan sambar in many blogs & sites. Saravana bhavan is one of the hotels in which I am longing to have my breakfast and dinner. But I have never got a chance . Whenever we go in, it will be crowded and we come out disappointed.Though I have not tasted this sambar, I wanted to try in my kitchen because this recipe is totally new from my usualhotel sambarrecipe.No need to make additional powder for sambar.Our usual sambar powder is enough.I have tried the original recipe many times and I felt its less tangy . So I changed the recipe according to our taste buds.Nowadays I am making this sambar regularly for idli & rice upma. It tastes great !

Pressure cook all the ingredients given under “pressure cook” till mushy.Remove & mix well.( Cook drumstick seperately and add it for best tasting sambar)

Grind all the ingredients adding little water to make a smooth paste.( given under “to grind”)

Add this ground paste and the tamarind extract, salt to the cooked dal mixture and allow it to boil well till the raw smell emanates.It will thicken.Add water when necessary.

Heat oil & add onions and green chillies , curry leaves and saute till onion turns transparent. Add tomato pieces and saute until mushy.Add this to the boiling sambar. Boil for some more time.Add sugar or jaggery while boiling.Finally temper the ingredients given under “To temper” and add to sambar.Garnish with coriander leaves.& close it with a lid. Serve after 30 minutes.For guests , add a tsp of ghee before serving : ))

Note

The actual recipe did not use tamarind.As I used Bangalore tomatoes ,I felt its bland. So I added little tamarind extract. If u use Tamil nadu tomato( Naatu thakkali) , tamarind may not be necessary.Make sure the sambar should be mild in tanginess.

Tempering at the end gives a nice flavor.If u want u can do this step while sauteing onions.

December 6, 2012

This is my first post on Christmas Fruit cake.Though i’ve tried some cake varieties, i couldn’t post any. I wanted to post a cake recipe for christmas. I googled & found eggless plum cake is the one which is mostly prepared for christmas..I got this recipe from “Divine taste “.As this is an alcohol free,eggless cake,i decided to give a try..I liked her blog very much. She has posted so many varieties of eggless cakes n cookies. I have bookmarked some more to try and this cake turned out very well.She has given the exact measurement.I just halved the recipe which yielded 10 pieces.. I gave some to my neighbour , she told it tasted exactly like the one they get in kerala & she took the recipe from me.. I was so excited to hear a good comment for my baking ..I’ve tried to give step by step pictures..Please follow the same quantity mentioned here. I used less dry fruits n Nuts than mentioned.Make ur choice .As i used less dry fruits , i added more sugar.Boiled & Mashed potato is used as an egg replacer.. To avoid fruit sinking , we cook the dry fruits while making the caramel sauce.No one can find this is an eggless cake..It takes nearly 1 hour baking time. But its worthy ..

Sieve the all purpose flour,cooking soda & baking powder in a wide bowl and set aside..Chop all the dry fruits & nuts separately and set aside..

In a saucepan,mix the fruits,sugar,butter,dates syrup & water..Heat in low flame till the sugar dissolves.Then increase the heat to medium and mix well..Butter will dissolve & let it boil.

Keep the flame low & allow the mixture to boil for 10 to 15 mins. Stir now & then to avoid burning..Dry Fruits will be cooked well and soft. In the mean time , grate the orange zest , blanch the almonds & make the all spice powder& mash the potato. Switch off the flame & mix the cooking soda. Mixture will become foamy. Set aside to cool completely.The consistency will be thick.

After the fruits sauce cools down , mix the orange zest , yogurt/curd , vanilla essence , well mashed potatoes & all spice powder.Whisk well to become a smooth paste.Then add the chopped nuts, mix well.Now add the flour little by little to this paste while stirring in the other hand.It will form a thick mass. The final batter will be of spooning consistency.

Grease a baking pan with butter and sprinkle maida.Then spoon the batter & fill the pan. Level the batter smoothly using a spatula..Place the blanched almonds for decoration.Cover the pan with a butter paper/thermal foil.Preheat the oven @180c for 10 mins..Bake for 1 hour and check with the tooth pick or Knife for doneness. If it comes out clean,then ur cake is ready..If not keep another 10 mins and try it. Please keep an eye after 50 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven after its baked well and set aside for 3-4 hrs to completely cool down. I left the cake overnight and the next morning i removed the cake from the butter paper. It came out very easily without sticking..This setting time is suggested for all the taste to blend well in the cake..Then Serve !!

Note

To avoid fruit sinking to the bottom,usually the dry fruits will be coated with maida. I dint do that.. I just added everything to the sauce mixture.